We tend to think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, as a study suggests, this isn’t necessarily true. In fact, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Standards of attractiveness are, indeed, broadly shared, however, our personal preferences play quite a big role too.

We at Bright Side decided to dive deeper into this topic and find out what features in people we consider more appealing without even realizing it.

1. Pupils

The pupils change their size in response to emotions, becoming bigger when we’re happy. Some studies showed that we subconsciously consider people with large pupils more attractive because it indicates their mutual interest in us. In the past, Italian women purposefully dilated their pupils using a poisonous extract from the belladonna plant to appear more attractive to male suitors.

2. Proportion of the waist

The waist’s proportion to the hips has always been considered one of the most important features in a woman’s appearance. And as some research shows, the lower the waist-hip ratio is, the more attractive a woman seems to a man.

3. Face symmetry

Researchers have confirmed that we rate symmetrical faces as more attractive than those with less symmetry because our visual receptors can process them much easier. Another reason for this is that we biologically associate symmetrical faces with good genes.

4. Averageness

As a study suggests, we prefer an appearance that looks more average to us. And this can have different explanations: either we link it with biological advantages such as good genes, or our brains simply prefer more typical faces.

5. Diet

There’s a small study that shows food preferences can actually make a man more attractive to a woman. The smell of men who recently ate fruits and vegetables was considered way more preferable over men who mostly ate food like bread and pasta.

6. Voice

According to research, women associate men’s lower voices with maturity, thus considering it more attractive.

7. Smell

A woman’s scent can actually affect how attractive they seem to men. But this is true for a particular smell: the one that’s based on women’s reproductive hormones. As research shows, women are much more appealing to men during the stage of ovulation because the level of hormones at this time is higher in the middle of the cycle, indicating their fertility.

8. Taste